Rio prepares for World Youth Day

Hundreds of thousands of Roman Catholics have gathered at Copacabana Beach in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil for the opening of the World Youth Day Festival.

The highlight of the festival will be the visit by Pope Francis on Thursday.

The Pope arrived on Monday for his first trip abroad since becoming the head of the Roman Catholic Church. He will welcome pilgrims to the five-day festival, which is expected to draw about 1.5 million people from around the world.